Gels on a long ride

[NicciT]

Purely out of curiosity how often do you take gels on a long ride (50 miles or more)?

I like the SiS gels (only others I've tried were High 5 and gave me cramps) - and I tend to take one every 15 miles or so - but the instructions say take every 20 minutes. I don't know anyone who takes gels that regularly - do you?

 

[T.M.H.N.E.T]

Nope.

 

[Rob3rt]

You should try eating real food!

 

[phil_hg_uk]

Purely out of curiosity how often do you take gels on a long ride (50 miles or more)?

I like the SiS gels (only others I've tried were High 5 and gave me cramps) - and I tend to take one every 15 miles or so - but the instructions say take every 20 minutes. I don't know anyone who takes gels that regularly - do you?

I take one or two with me in case I feel the need, and that is usually only on long rides where I can find myself with nowhere to buy food from.

If you used them as instructed it would be cheaper to go in the car

 

[NicciT]

So am I wasting my time with them? I do take snacks, energy bars but thought I should supplement them with gels.

 

[Rob3rt]

So am I wasting my time with them? I do take snacks, energy bars but thought I should supplement them with gels.

IMO you are wasting your money yes (or at least not optimising your spending). I don't see how time comes into it though.

Gel's are essentially designed for athletes who are performing in a capacity where consuming real food is not possible, i.e. they can not carry it or they would vomit it all back up or mess their pants. Since the companies selling these things want to make money, they want to widen the demographic they can sell to, so they typically hire people who are good at marketing. Being gullible, as people are, many average Joe's have become convinced that they should be using them on their weekend pootles.

They are a useful thing to keep one or 2 on you, for an emergency, but the reality is, it is cheaper and equally good if not better for you to be consuming real food, which costs less and tastes better.

 

[phil_hg_uk]

So am I wasting my time with them? I do take snacks, energy bars but thought I should supplement them with gels.

I always like to have a gel just in case but you cant beat proper food, on a long ride I try to have a halfway stop at a cafe and have a proper meal to fuel me for the next half of the ride.

At the moment I do like these Zero Tabs you put in your drink, they probably don't do much good but they make a nice change from just water and I dont drink fizzy/soft drinks such as coke etc.

 

[4F]

Nope, real food here as well, every 20 mins is a joke.

I will eat every hour on the hour a mixture of jam sandwiches, flapjack, soren fruit loaf and of cubes of jelly.

I recently participated in a charity 12 back to back 1 hour spin classes at they gym, and the above worked perfectly.

 

[Spinney]

What Rob3ert said...

But also, I prefer something a little more solid - flapjacks are good.

(What this means is that I generally use a long bike ride as an excuse to pig out on flapjack, chocolate, etc - probably consuming far more calories than is actually justified by the effort I put in!)

 

[NicciT]

I feel a bit of a prat now for wasting my money on them

 

[4F]

I feel a bit of a prat now for wasting my money on them

I wouldn't worry about it I am sure most of us have been there. I certainly used to spend lots of money in them before seeing the light

 

[Rob3rt]

Just because you carry them, doesn't mean you have to use them. Carrying 1 or 2 takes next to no space, if you are in trouble use one. If you are fine, don't. Take them home and keep them for another day.

 

[NicciT]

Just because you carry them, doesn't mean you have to use them. Carrying 1 or 2 takes next to no space, if you are in trouble use one. If you are fine, don't. Take them home and keep them for another day.

Thanks - good advice

 

[Rob3rt]

Maybe my initial post was overly militant against their use? It was not intended that way, many things developed for athletes can be of use to the average cyclist in the right circumstances, the problem (probably not so much a problem, although it could be, but more often simply cost inefficiency) occurs when the average cyclist uses the product in the same way or quantity as the athlete would, or when the average cyclist is under the impression that the product will make them perform like an athlete, or, when the average cyclist is convinced their needs are the same as an athletes, usually due to marketing.

If you were to take 1 gel every 20 minutes as instructed, on a 2 hour ride you would use 6 gels (or 5 if you omit the one to be consumed at minute 120 since you will now be home), at ~£1 a pop, that's ~£5-6! A loaf of Soreen costs between £1-2. A loaf of Soreen will provide more than enough nutrition for a 2 hour ride and would provide enough slices (depending how you cut it) to have one every 20 minutes.

You can consider fig rolls, flap jacks, granola etc vs gels in the same way.

 

[HLaB]

I save the gels for a sportive or similar they have more effect IMO that way when I want that extra bit. I usually like to have one about the last 10miles 10% to give me that extra bit (even if its just pychological); on Saturdays 100miler I also had one around half way; and it was similar for the 160mile TofF.